Last-minute lobbying fails to swing the vote
Thursday 30th July 2009, 11:30AM BST.
Anti-incinerator campaigners Mimi Byrom and Pete Burtenshaw with others outside the States Chamber yesterday. Their protest looked to have been in vain as a motion to delay a decision was defeated. (Picture by Tom Tardif, 0815507)
CAMPAIGNERS yesterday lobbied deputies in a last-ditch attempt to persuade them to vote against Public Services’ proposed £93.5m. waste plant.
Two more petitions were also presented, one of which was signed by 750 people and handed to Housing minister Dave Jones, who brought a sursis, or delaying motion, to the States yesterday. That move, to allow more time to examine alternative technologies, was defeated by 30 votes to 17.
Taken with Monday’s petition, the total number of signatures now stands at more than 4,000 in favour of a delay, but it was unclear whether some were duplicates.
Media producer Lindsay de Sausmarez, 31, who helped collect signatures for Monday’s petition, said it sent a strong message to politicians.
‘Over the last week I’ve canvassed the opinions of approximately 600 people.
‘A striking majority – roughly two out of three – think we should not sign a contract with Suez until alternatives have been properly considered and of the remainder, only about 10 people supported Public Services’ proposal on its own merits.
‘Deputy Flouquet has gone to enormous lengths to portray those who object to the proposal as a vocal minority. This is not only patronising, it’s wrong,’ she said.
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If this project gets voted in it will be the WORST MISTAKE the Guernsey Government has EVER made and quite honestly makes me want to emigrate from an island that I was born in and have lived in all my life.
Why isn’t anyone listening? We want kerb side recycling…We want fresh air! (Daytrips in Herm and Sark – not least everday life for permanent residents – will be much less enjoyable as they will probably get most of the fumes…) and we want a solution that is not going to cost us silly money in taxes, or damage the environment.
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Agreed, Katie!
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Katie
Well said,you got most peoples feelings written down there.
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Katie
I couldnt agree more!
In my humble opinion Flouquet’s position is very quickly becoming untenable.
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Flouquet….patronising? What did he say about President Obama? And why is the Deputy elected second from bottom of his Parish in charge of PSD & Deputy Chief Minister? Anyone would think The States were clueless…..
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Recycling though will require a lot of transport to collect it and get it to its various destinations. Its going to have a good sized carbon foot print.
What will happen if there is no market for the recycled waste – its going to end up in a landfill or an incinerator.
This incinerator is not something from the turn of the last century.
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CW
Do you not understand what resources are? Whether or not there is a market should not determine how we treat our waste. Why not invest to create a local market for processing recyclables?
Burning stuff is caveman behaviour.
Guernsey is a rich island (ho ho ho) yet those that hold the cash want to keep us in the dark ages.
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I can’t help but feel a trick has been missed here.
A portion of the cost is for the MRF e.g. the site will sort commercial waste. Surely legislating compulsory commercial sorting would be far cheaper (free?) and would mean that the cost of the sorting is born by the commercial sector and not on the public purse as a capital payment + interest costs to install the MRF portion of the facility.
Anyway there’s no point reminising of what could have been, we’re all stuck with an extra £200pa on our refuse bills so might as well make the most of it and fill the black sacks to the brim. Whats the point of recycling now?
…. Yes im resigned to the fact that it looks like we are going mass burn. Unfortunately.
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What I mean is what happens if no one wants to buy recycled waste. Its happened! We’ll end up with a massive pile of rubbish. Demand and supply!
May be reduce and reuse.
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CW
We are going to get a massive pile of rubbish anyway……. its called the incinerator
Ba doom tish!
Who’s going to clear that pile away in 25 years, and who’s going to pay for it??
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Arnald, why oh why do you keep going on about the rich? You are obsessed!
Personally I believe this is a terrible decision by the States. It’s got nothing to do with the rich (Arnald, you may have noticed an open letter in the Press against this project signed by many rich people)…it’s all to do with a bunch of talentless individuals in the States.
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CW,
Most people will always buy from the cheapest supplier. As prices are generally deflated at the moment, so are the prices for recycled materials. It doesn’t mean no one is buying.
Where there would be benefit is for the recycled materials to be used in Guernsey in some way.
Perhaps take the wood waste and the plastic waste and produce recycled composite garden decking boards for sale locally and as export ?
Of course, something like this wont be possible if we have to fuel the monster.
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Well one little thing bothers me, well a bit of a quandary I should say
Will BF being French, and the Incinerator firm being French; 2 and 2 making 5—
My question is this
Will BF get the ‘Legion D’Honneur’ or a Croix -DE-Guerre’
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This is not an issue of facts, (modern thermal treatment is probably one of the most environmentally benign of all environmental technologies) providing it is properly operated and tightly regulated, but it is an issue of emotion and projection. I think it is interesting that so many people are against something that ultimately will manage their waste. Projection or the perceiving of objects or others with our own feeling and thoughts is interesting, do we have a lot of psychological waste to deal with that perhaps we dont want to?
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Peter…. to me, it is largely about tying us into a 25year contract, (approx 30 years from here) to produce the waste for this plant, and then destroying this waste so that it cannot go back into the loop. The rest of the world are working towards reducing the amount of residual waste that is created and ensuring that the waste we do produce, goes back into the system.. (Cradle to Cradle economy). The world is groaning under the linear economy (Cradle to Grave) that we are all presently part of…….. its unsustainable nature is widely recognised as the route of many of the worlds problems. This mass-burn incinerator will force Guernsey to stay a part of this now outdated ‘linear economy’. While we will be able to continue to recycle a small part of our waste, we are going to have to start destroying a large part of it too….. and that is NOT going to do our reputation any good what so ever.
And that is without even beginning to talk about the considerable health risks and the huge costs of the plant, both of which will have serious implications for the island.
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